When I see a huge spider lurking in the bathtub, I wonder
what God was thinking of when he created such a thing.
But on a damp, low-cloudy morning like today I can see a
redeeming feature. As I walked round behind the neighbour’s home I marvelled at
the lace doilies picked out in dew drops as they stretched between branches and
twigs of gorse and honeysuckle.
There is something so fragile and dainty about these
structures, and yet I know that the silk the spiders spin is pretty heavy-duty.
Normally these webs hang hidden, effective traps for hapless flying victims. Perhaps
on mornings like this the spiders have to fast as insects perceive the danger
and avoid the trap.
How easy it is for us to get drawn into situations which
look attractive perhaps – as the webs do this morning. Equally, how easy it is
to fall prey to hidden traps and not recognise what’s happened until we are
struggling to be set free.
I’m thinking of addictions as well as sins. Things which we
choose to become involved in as well as things which catch us unaware. Sometimes
we can feel trussed up and waiting helplessly for some evil monster to devour
us.
As Paul writes to the Galatians, though, it was for freedom
that Christ has set us free. Jesus wants us to live lives free from addictions
and free from fear. He wants to transform our minds so that we see his goodness
and recognise that all that he offers is wonderful, offered in love and with no
strings attached.
He is not a spider lurking in the leaves, waiting for his
next victim. He is the one who has already untangled any web we might construct
or get caught in, and is just waiting for us to ask him to lift us out.
Some entanglements are broken quickly and some resist for
years but God’s main aim is to set us all free. That’s why Jesus came.
And as for spiders – keep outside of my house, where you can
live out your destiny in freedom...
